Jaws Acquisition, a blank check company led by Starwood Capital founder Barry Sternlicht, raised $600 million by offering 60 million units at $10. The company originally planned to offer 40 million units before increasing its proposed unit offering to 50 million last week. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-third of a redeemable warrant exercisable at $11.50. At the offer price, Jaws Acquisition commands a market value of $725 million.
The company is led by Chairman Barry Sternlicht, the founder and CEO of Starwood Capital, and CEO Joseph Dowling, who is currently the CEO of Brown University's endowment. The company has not specified an industry of focus, but will not target an industry that is competitive with Starwood Capital, including real estate, lodging, oil and gas, and energy infrastructure. Starwood Capital's publicly traded REIT, Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), has a market cap of $3.3 billion and is down 53% YTD.
Jaws Acquisition plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol JWS.U. Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Citi acted as lead managers on the deal.
